{"id":50191,"date":"2019-11-06T20:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=50191"},"modified":"2020-08-07T23:56:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T14:56:50","slug":"hidden-onsen-yamaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/hidden-onsen-yamaga\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover the Hidden Onsen Villages of Northern Kumamoto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sponsored by Northern Kumamoto Administrative Headquarters<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing my eyes, I listened only to the summer sounds of the semi <\/em>(cicadas) chirping loudly in the trees overhead, the lapping of the water at the edge of the bath and my own quiet breathing. It was the sound of my breathing that gave away the fact that I was indeed alive, though one could be forgiven for believing I had died and gone to heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are countless onsen<\/em> dotted across Japan, and especially on the southern island of Kyushu where the many volcanoes, active and dormant, stir the waters far below the ground, creating natural concoctions thought to do everything from ease your eczema to heal your arthritis. Some are on on busy roadsides, crowded with farmers relaxing after a long day tending their fields. Still others are in the middle of cities, looking more like Las Vegas casinos than places to relax in a bath and get a nice meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the type of onsen that I was now immersed in was special. Hidden in the wooded hills of Kikuka town in northern Kumamoto Prefecture, I drove through the satoyama<\/em>, a pristine woodland area, to arrive here for an overnight stay at Ryokan Kafutei<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n